Rob Ford ruling: Countdown to appeal deadline begins for ousted mayor

Forget Ford’s many embarrassing gaffes: Spats with Margaret Atwood and reporters, giving young children the finger or attempting to read an entire briefing memo while driving a moving car, to name three examples among too many. All of those things were stupid, but we can set them aside and focus just on the crux of this issue — Ford was removed for office because he showed utter contempt for how the city of Toronto works.

Confusion, shock and uncertainty continue to loom over Toronto City Council today as the countdown begins on Rob Ford’s appeal process.

The mayor, who has vowed to fight “tooth and nail” against what he calls a left-wing conspiracy that resulted in a judge ordering him out of office for violating conflict of interest rules, has 30 days to appeal and says he’ll run for mayor again if he gets no traction in the courts. He can also request a stay of the ruling that would allow him to remain in office while the court weighs his appeal.

His brother, Councillor Doug Ford, is calling on supporters to rally behind the mayor at a championship high school football game the mayor will coach later today.

Some of the mayor’s other allies, however, are tempering their public support for Mr. Ford.

Giorgio Mammoliti, one of the chief magistrate’s fiercest defenders, announced he was quitting the mayor’s executive committee as a result of the ruling. Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday said he would be interested in the top job if council moved to appoint a replacement, while Denzil Minnan-Wong, another ally, vowed he would not “abandon ship” but also remained silent when asked if he would stand next to the mayor at a press conference.

Mr. Mammoliti urged the mayor on Tuesday to “reconsider” his decision to appeal the court ruling, saying he feared the repercussions on the city if the matter dragged out for months.

“If his lawyers are telling him to appeal, then maybe he needs to,” said Mr. Mammoliti, who is worried investment dollars could fly out of the city because of uncertainty over who is leading the municipality.

“If the mayor chooses not to appeal that the right thing to do is for the deputy mayor to step in his shoes, finish out the term as long as he agrees not to run in the next election,” said Mr. Mammoliti.

An online petition aiming to have Ford reinstated did, however, spring up at WeSupportFord.ca, though only about 1,200 people have offered their support. It is not clear who is behind the website.

And so, more legal wrangling lies ahead, as Mr. Ford confirmed he would appeal the decision. His first key hurdle will be getting a stay of the judgment, thus allowing him to remain in office pending appeal. The mayor’s lawyer, Alan Lenczner, expects a hearing on the matter next week. He is hoping to move quickly by securing a date to hear the appeal by mid-December.

Stephen D’Agostino, a municipal lawyer with 15 years experience with conflict-of-interest cases, said he has “never seen the courts stay a conflict-of-interest decision.”

But Mr. Lenczner plans to spell out the ramifications of refusing the request to a court. “Are we going to create a situation where if we don’t grant a stay and they call a new election and there is a new mayor elected — and then the appeal is allowed, what kind of a mess are we in?”

If Mr. Ford fails to convince the court of a stay, city council must move forward with finding a replacement — either through appointment or a byelection, which many councillors maintained would be the most democratic option.

“I’m a fighter and I’ve done a lot of great work for the city and sometimes you win, sometimes you lose,” Mr. Ford told a crush of reporters outside his city hall office Monday.

The situation ultimately comes down to “left-wing politics,” he contended. Doug Ford had a grave look on his face all day, at one point barrelling through a crowd of journalists to get to his brother’s side, but the mayor continued with the business of the city, launching his annual toy drive in the city hall rotunda, where he asked children if they had been good. He also made it out to the football field for one last practice with his Don Bosco Eagles before the high school squad appears in the Metro Bowl final on Tuesday.

“The left wing wants me out of here and they’ll do anything in their power to, and I’m going to fight tooth and nail to hold onto my job — and if they do for some reason get me out, I’ll be running right back at them,” the mayor said. “As soon as the next election is, if there’s a byelection, my name is the first one on the ballot.”

Mr. Ford was found to have contravened the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act when he spoke and voted on a matter in which he had pecuniary interest at a city council meeting in February. The case centred on Mr. Ford’s failure to reimburse $3,150 in donations to his private football foundation, after the city’s integrity commissioner ruled the mayor improperly solicited funds from registered lobbyists and a company that had dealings with the city.

Council was fully aware (probably sick to death) of Rob Ford’s relation to the matter he was voting and speaking on. It was not a situation where a council member was speaking and voting on a deal that would secretly land him some extra cash or business opportunities. It was a situation where a council member was openly trying to defend himself from sanctions he deemed unfair.

But the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act makes no distinctions between the two situations. Which makes no sense.

“Accordingly, I declare the seat of the respondent Robert Ford on Toronto City Council, vacant,” wrote Justice Charles Hackland. He declined to impose any further disqualification from holding office “beyond the current term.” Judge Hackland found the mayor’s actions amounted to “willful blindness.” And while he concluded that Mr. Ford’s actions were “far from the most serious breach” of the Act — noting that “there was absolutely no issue of corruption or pecuniary gain” — he wrote he has no choice but to remove him from office because he does not believe the violations to have been inadvertent or an error in judgment.

“In view of the respondent’s leadership role in ensuring integrity in municipal government, it is difficult to accept an error-in-judgment defence based essentially on a stubborn sense of entitlement (concerning his football foundation) and a dismissive and confrontational attitude to the Integrity Commissioner and the Code of Conduct,” the judge wrote in his 24-page judgment.

He also called the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act “a very blunt instrument” that has attracted justified criticism.

Clayton Ruby, the litigator who launched the lawsuit on behalf of Toronto resident Paul Magder, said he was pleased with the ruling, noting it’s about preserving the “integrity of municipal government.”

“It’s important for the court to assert nobody is above the law, Rob Ford included,” said Mr. Ruby at a press conference at city hall. “Rob Ford did this to Rob Ford. It could so easily have been avoided.”

COUNCILLORS REACT

Councillors of all political stripes were reeling Monday from the news that Mayor Rob Ford would be tossed out of office over a conflict-of-interest violation. The National Post‘s Megan O’Toole canvassed members of the left, right and centre for their reactions.

Councillor Doug Ford urged his brother’s supporters to show up at the Metro Bowl Tuesday night, where the mayor’s Don Bosco Eagles football team would be on the field. “This is about giving back to the kids; this is about supporting kids in priority neighbourhoods,” Councillor Ford said. “This is a man that cares, a man that is the most honest politician I’ve ever seen in this country.”

Councillor Adam Vaughan, one of the mayor’s bitterest rivals, urged council to take a “take a deep breath” and begin considering what comes next. “It’s not a question of whether Ford’s finished or not,” Mr. Vaughan said. “The question is, what’s Toronto’s next step?… The business of the city is best done on the floor of council, and unfortunately some people keep dragging us into court. I hope that practice stops.”

Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday, who would temporarily fill in as mayor in the event of a byelection call, said he would also put his name forward if council moved to appoint a replacement for the remainder of Mr. Ford’s term. “I think the voters would be satisfied if they knew that the same agenda was going to be followed… Somebody has to carry this agenda forward,” Mr. Holyday said.

Councillor Josh Matlow called the ruling “shocking” and unprecedented. “It’s a lesson to every municipal official across Ontario that when you get elected, read the rulebook,” Mr. Matlow said, noting the city needs to get away from the “constant reality show” that has become Mr. Ford’s tenure, and instead focus on priorities such as transit and economic development.

Councillor Mike Del Grande suggested most observers were expecting Mr. Ford to receive “a slap, as opposed to outright removal.” He supported the mayor’s decision to appeal. “This whole issue to him was principle,” Mr. Del Grande said. “If people say they want to elect politicians that have principles, that would stand up, then that’s what you get.”

Councillor Janet Davis said the decision reinforces the notion that the mayor is not above the law. “He often breaks the rules and gets away with it. Well this time he didn’t… Sometimes he’s stubborn and pig-headed and this is where he’s landed himself because of it.” The ruling nonetheless came as a surprise, Ms. Davis added: “I sort of thought there would be some kind of a loophole.”

Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti — who later quit the executive committee, citing concerns from his constituents — initially came out strongly in support of Mr. Ford, blaming the mayor’s political foes for sending the city into turmoil. “There are some… that did not win politically, democratically at the last election and very clearly set out to create chaos,” Mr. Mammoliti said. “They’ve achieved it.”

Councillor Joe Mihevc trumpeted that “justice was done today,” but lamented a “difficult” time for Toronto residents. “There is not a law for people with power and those who don’t have power; it’s the same law… It’s a good day for respect for law and order in this city of ours. It’s a sad day for Torontonians that it had to come to this.”